Volume 6, Issue 4
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October 6, 2017
Time Travel in West Virginia There is now a way to travel back in history at Harpers Ferry National Park. The Rangers at the park have developed an app that visitors can use to explore the history of the town and its part in the civil war. Twenty-five Berkeley County teachers went on a Time Trekker in August as part of the county’s technology professional development Geek Week.
In this issue…. Time Travel in WV ………………………. 1 Marshall vs. WVU ………………………. 2 Trending Now ………………………. 3 Kid Friendly Apps ………………………. 3 Recipe …………………….… 3 Educational Grants ………………….…… 4 Collaboration ………………………. 5 Contributors ………………...…… 5
Time Trekker is a unique app designed just for use at Harpers Ferry NP. The game is designed with students’ grade 3-12 in mind. Students download the app and use a smart phone to follow clues and collect artifacts while following a map through the park. Each game purchase is just .99 cents. The bookstore at the park has free guide books that each player will need to participate. Teams of four to five players each assume different roles in history while participating in a Trek. At the starting point the phone will vibrate and a time portal will appear on the screen. As you move around in 360 degrees there are “people” who will give information about the area and clues to the next location. There are also questions which allow for the team to earn or lose points depending on their answers. My team selected to play Judging John Brown. Once a game is started you have twenty-four hours to complete it. The average time given to complete a Trek was two hours after our group attempt we felt like it would require more time. This Trek includes 3.5 miles of walking, some up a steep hill. As we worked through our game there was a learning curve but overall it was a lot of fun. The teachers in my group felt that third grade students might be too young, but with the right chaperone it could be done. The three other Treks available are Freedom’s Fight, taking students back to 1840 to Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. There are two versions of this game, the second is a mobility impaired version. The final Trek is War Wounds, which takes the players to 1861 during an actual battle at Harpers Ferry. If you’re looking for a way to bring history alive to your students this would be a great place to start.
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Marshall vs. WVU
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West Virginia is fortunate in our many high-quality postsecondary opportunities, not only for our students, but for our educators as well. As we encourage our students to prepare for and continue their educational journey, we, as teachers, should not forget that the same opportunities are there for us. Marshall and West Virginia Universities are just two of the options available for teachers to continue their own development in programs that highlight the use of emerging technologies to transform education. Consider those aspects that set any program apart from other schools in West Virginia as you continue your journey to stay young. Marshall M. Ed. Program, Lisa A. Heaton, Ph.D. Graduate School of Education and Professional Development ➢ Marshall University’s MA in Education requires 36 hours of course work. ➢ TIS participants can earn up to 12 hours through the program at reduced tuition. ➢ Emphasis in Instructional Technology and Learning as well as other areas available. ➢ All areas of emphasis are online complete courses where you are. ➢ Distance learner tuition is competitively priced. Highlighted Educational Tools. ➢ ShowMe: http://www.showme.com. Create flipped classroom lessons ➢ Powtoon: https://www.powtoon.com. Create animated videos and presentations ➢ Weebly for Education: https://education.weebly.com Create classroom web-based activities. ➢ Socrative: https://www.socrative.com. Conduct class polls and assessments. ➢ PicMonkey: https://www.picmonkey.com. Edit photos and create designs to express learning.
West Virginia University M.Ed. Program, Ugur Kale, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Instructional Design & Technology ➢ WVU’s MA in Education 100% Online: http://lshd.wvu.edu/idt/ma-online ➢ Reduced required hours for the MA degree: 30 credits ➢ Same tuition fee for both resident and nonresident students ➢ Courses informed by instructional design, ed. psych., and program evaluations. ➢ Diverse student population from public schools, corporate and nonprofit institutions. Highlighted Educational Tools. ➢ Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/. Promote computational thinking, code and animate. ➢ Kodu: https://www.kodugamelab.com. Promote computational thinking, visual programming language. ➢ Edmodo: https://www.edmodo.com/. Learning management, communications. ➢ Wordpress: https://wordpress.com/. Create websites or build a blog. ➢ Google: https://google.com/docs/about/. Collaborative writing.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Henry Ford
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What is trending now: Flexible seating- more teachers are using flexible seating such as bean bags, couches, chair leg bungees, and shorter tables allowing students to sit in the floor. All these options allow students to have a choice in their learning areas. Let’s ask ourselves this: Is it effective? Who benefits the most from it? How are we selecting the students to sit in these areas?
Tailgate Teaser Buffalo Chicken Tacos: 4-5 Frozen Chicken Breasts (boneless/skinless) 1 Package of dry ranch ½ Bottle of Franks Hot Wing Sauce Put all Ingredients in Crock pot on low for 6 hours. Shred with fork and put on taco shells with your favorite taco topping.
Mac and Cheese Box of Macaroni 18 Velvetta Slices 1 stick of butter and Milk Cook Macaroni, spray baking dish and put first layer of macaroni. Then place pieces of butter over macaroni then 1 layer of cheese slices (9), repeat for layer 2. Pour milk over top layer of cheese about 1/4 of the way up dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
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Family Friendly Learning Apps and Websites • A+ SPELLING TEST Enter students spelling words and pronounce them, student then has options on how to learn words such as unscramble and test. • VocabTest.com Each week enter students’ vocabulary words and definitions to promote learning through crosswords and reverse definitions. Parents and teachers can use in class or at home. • Multiplication Table Kids Math Helps kids master their multiplication tables while having fun through games and quizzing.
• [app]
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Educational Grant Opportunities Small Research Grants from Spencer Foundation https://www.spencer.org/small-research-grants-program-statement Deadline: November 1, 2017 • Supports education research project with a budget of $50,000 or less. This foundation is looking for projects that “will contribute to the improvement of education.” They will accept proposals in various areas of study. Prize: Grants average about $50,000.
DiscoverE Collaboration Grants Overview http://www.discovere.org/about-us/outreach-grants/collaboration-grants Deadline: Ongoing • Supports programs that engage youth in the engineering community with hands-on learning. Must be led by a group of at least 3 partnering organizations. Prize: Five $1000 grants are available.
Pets in the Classroom Grants http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/grant-app/ Deadline: Rolling • Support for educators to purchase and maintain a small classroom pets. This grant is established by the Pet Care Trust. Educators grads PK – ninth are eligible to apply. Prize: A variety of small grants are available.
Field Trip Grants from the Civil War Trust https://www.civilwar.org/learn/educators/resources/field-trip-fund Deadline: Rolling • This grant allows K-12 educators to take students on field trips to natural historic sites. The Civil War Trust provides grants to help educators plan field trips to Civil War, War of 1812, and Revolutionary War battlefields. Prize: Grants are available up to $1,500.
“Keep your mind open to opportunities. They are closer than you think.”
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Collaboration with Technology Recap (letsrecap.com) This is a free app that works on Mac’s and PC’s as well. This site allows your students to access your online classroom at home or school. This site can be used as a blended learning rotation station where the teacher and students can ask and answer questions. This site allows for video responses as well making this tool accessible for grades K-12.
ePals (www.epals.com) This is a free site for ages 3 – 19. The focus of this site is to connect with other classes from around the world, creating a global community. Each teacher can create projects collaboratively with classes around the world or the teacher can give their students the ability to connect with students from other classes around the world.
Newsletter Contributors Tim Bauman
Karen Greenfield
Multi-Categorical, Math,
Middle School Librarian,
English, Lorrie Yeager
Spring Mills Middle School
Center, Office of Diversion
Berkeley County, WV
and Transition Programs
Carrie Kuhn
Pam Otto
Multi-Categorical Teacher,
Academic Data Coach
Logan Middle School
Barbour County, WV
Logan County, WV